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Third OIE regional workshop on the role of Veterinary Services on animal welfare in natural disasters for Balkan countries

The third and final workshop on the welfare of animals in natural disasters (DMAWB3) was organized by the OIE Platform in collaboration with the  Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise “G.Caporale” /OIE Collaborating Centres on Animal Welfare, and Veterinary Training and Capacity Building (IZSAM), from the 9th to the 11th of November 2021. 

The event was held in the form of a Table Top Exercise (TTX) that concluded the 3 years pilot project launched by the OIE Platform on Animal Welfare for Europe in 2018 on natural disaster preparedness in the Balkans. The event was attended by 40 selected experts in representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. Prominent international speakers and animal welfare NGOs’ representatives also attended as contributors and/or facilitators. 

The TTX aimed at testing and validating model Veterinary Service’s Contingency Plans (VS-CP) for the management of animal welfare matters in a flooding scenario whilst identifying issues and improvements of protocols and operational procedures employed in managing the event. Romanian, Bulgarian and Montenegro representatives updated the participants on project progress achieved over time and introduced their own contingency plans. 

Preliminary results of the OIE survey on the "Levels of Veterinary Services' preparedness for dealing with animal welfare emergencies during natural disasters" conducted by the Lincoln Memorial University in conjunction with the Platform Secretariat were also presented.  

Based on the results of this workshop and the outcomes of the regional needs assessment exercise focusing on Veterinary Services preparedness and capacity levels, geographical scope and possible disaster scenarios, new initiatives will be developed in this area, within the context of the 2021- 2023 Action Plan of the OIE Platform on Animal Welfare for Europe. 

Relevant documents